The Wicked Time Machine: Spring Forwards
by Obella
Summary: A girl from '08 is forced into going to the future by her friends when the government finds out about their time machine. She takes the GW boys under her wing and bides her time until her WTM is repaired. PWP?
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Wicked Time Machine: Spring Forwards

Summary: A girl from '08 is forced into going to the future by her friends when the government finds out about their time machine. She takes the GW boys under her wing and bides her time until her WTM is repaired. PWP?

Rating: Teen

Pairings: None. I fail at writing romance. So I've decided to just forget about it. Sorry to my old readers that were looking forward to a DuoxWufei romance.

Warnings: I have no beta reader, so there may be mistakes in this. If you spot any, please tell me.

Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing, would I be writing this?

**To My Old Readers**: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I got caught up in school and life in general. Yeah, I know that's lame. But, eh, that's how the story goes. The good news is, I've improved my writing style! I am proud of myself! (Beams)

And yes, sadly, there will be no romance in the story, unless it's lightly implied. But I doubt it. I seriously do suck at writing romantic stories. It might be because I've never been in a relationship myself, so I don't know how the whole 'love' thing works; not personally, anyway. Sorry, guys.

Oh – I decided to keep up the first person point of view, by the way! :3

I hope everyone enjoys _The Wicked Time Machine_:_ Spring Forwards_, formally known as _Ho Shiz(!)_.

* * *

Chapter 1: Into the Uncertain Future

_March 3, 2008_

"Okay..." I said to myself, double-checking my supplies. "Ramen, check. Water bottle, check. Wine coolers, check. Cell phone, check. Laptop, check. MP3 player, check. Notebooks and writing utensils, check. Box of Cheese Its, check. Bubba's little pot for cooking ramen in (which I totally stole), check. Clothes, check. Camera and it's extra batteries, check. Sonic screwdriver, check. Sleeping bag and tent, check. Gun (which I also stole, but from Dad), check. Cloak, check. Photo album, check. Goggles, check. Books, check. Back up MP3 player and it's batteries, check. Jewelry, check. Make up, check. Pads, check. PMS pills, check. First Aid kits (both the portable one and the larger one), check. Bags, check. Pulse," I paused to check my pulse. "Check. Okay, I'm all set."

I chuckled to myself, looking at my reflection in the mirror of my room here at the Base.

I had my hair up in a pony tail (for once), and I was wearing my goggles to help keep my bangs out of my face. I wore a purple shirt, a black jacket, dark jeans, my scruffy army boots, wrist warmers, my gun and it's holster, my ring, my locket, my MP3 player and headphones, and my faded red messenger bag, my mini backpack with my last name on it on it, and I held my travel bag on wheels with my right hand.

I looked kick ass, which was perfect, since I was going into an unknown future. It's best that I look as intimidating as possible so no one tries anything with me – and hey, wait a minute.

I squinted at the mirror, and then cursed.

Oh, God damn it! My eye liner is all funky. I hate it when that happens; stupid cheap makeup...

Grumbling, I quickly fixed it and then I walked out of my room and headed down for the lab. Amanda and Brandon were getting everything ready for the last test, with me as the test subject, of course. I still can't believe that we've actually came this far into the WTM project – that the stress, sweat, tears, electrical shocks, debt, and panic attacks weren't for nothing.

We actually made a working time machine, which we've name the Wicked Time Machine (WTM), because it's absolutely wicked and totally awesome. And yes, we know that it works (with non living things and small animals) since we sent a squirrel to yesterday morning two weeks ago, and it appeared like it was supposed too – in one piece!

We actually _did it!_ I feel so proud of myself now! And smart, too, can't forget that!

I grinned stupidly as I slid the hidden door open and walked down the familiar steps to the lab, shutting the door behind me. I stepped down the steps, not caring for the fact that I was making a lot of noise with my travel bag as I went down the stairs.

I lost my smile, however, when I heard Brandon and Amanda talking to each other in worried voices, sounding scared, and slowed to a stop at the foot of the stairs.

Oh shit – how much do you want to bet that there's something wrong with the computers? Damn it, I _knew_ it was too good to be true! Shit, shit, shit, shit...

"OY! What's up?!" I quickly rushed over to them, and they looked at me with stressed out expressions on their faces.

"Tia!" I suddenly had my arms full of two very worried soul siblings.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, bewildered.

"The government knows!" Amanda said, and I felt my blood go cold at that. "And they're coming here now!"

Oh snap.

"H-how?" I stuttered out, tightening my hold on them. "How did they find out?"

"We don't know!" Brandon almost shouted, and he was suddenly pacing about, his red lab coat billowing agitatedly behind him. "No one outside of this room knows about our plans – NO ONE!"

"What if...what if they watched our calls over the phone?" Amanda theorized, loosening her hold on me a bit to reach out to her fiancé, grabbing his hand. He stopped his pacing and squeezed her smaller hand, his expression a mix of anger and deep sadness as he gazed at us.

I bit my lip.

"But...I thought that was just a rumor? You know, the whole government conspiracy thing?" I was so glad that my voice didn't shake – I was scared out of my mind here! Why? Because this is scary shit! What if they lock us up and force us into working for them and telling them all our secrets? Oh man...I hate my life!

I must have somehow gave myself away, because Amanda slowly shook her head, and soothingly petted my head, knowing that it always calmed me down.

"How else could they have known?" She said reasonably, and I had to agree.

The idea of one of us being a betrayer never once crossed our minds. We all knew that we were fiercely loyal to each other, and that we would rather die than hurt the others.

I sighed and sat down in the WTM's chair, placing my head in my hands. How could this have happened? We were so close to actual time travel! So damn _close!_

I flinched when I heard the front door get knocked down, and stared up at the ceiling with dawning horror.

Oh shit. FBI agents? The scary kind that look like they could eat babies for breakfast?

Oh my Goddess...

I turned my attention away from the shouting upstairs and loud foot steps when a folder with a TARDIS drawn on it was tossed into my lap. I stared at it, confused. Uh...why are the WTM's blueprints in my lap?

I looked up at my soul siblings for an explanation, bewildered, and I felt my eyes widened as I took in the grim, but determined, expressions on Amanda and Brandon's faces as they quickly started up the WTM.

Oh no. No, no, no, no!

Amanda turned to me, smiling sadly at my stunned form. "Everything's all set – you should be safe 300 years into the future, Tiana." She stepped over to Brandon, gripping his hand tightly as she stared at me, her eyes watery.

I was still too shocked to move. They couldn't! No way! We're all in this together! We promised each other at the beginning that we would see this to the end – _all_ of us, not just them!

Brandon grinned at me, hand hovering above the activation button. "Bye, Tia! Have fun!"

"Wha – Brandon, _NO!_" I finally shouted, and I was about to stand up and slap some sense into them, but I was seconds to late to do anything.

The last thing I ever saw of 2008 was them waving goodbye at me – Brandon with a strained grin on his face and Amanda crying while trying to smile reassuringly at me – and then I was violently sent into the future where nothing at all was familiar to me.

_You idiots_._ Why? Why did you do this? Why?_

...

* * *

_March 3, AC 197 _

* * *

I was in a state of shock, as I stared with wide, horrified eyes at the darkness that surrounded me. I could smell dust, old paper, and rust. I remembered how, just moments ago, it smelled of Amanda's perfume and of the freshly made cookies that me and Brandon made while Amanda was rechecking everything in the lab. She was pleasantly surprised when we came down with milk and cookies for her, and beamed at us. Brandon had said something about how fair maidens like her need to take a break, or they would surely die from all the stress and that would just suck wouldn't it? Amanda just rolled her eyes and threw her pen at him, giggling at his mock-hurt look, and I just laughed and laughed...

I let out a choked sob at the memory, and cried for the first time in nearly two years.

_Those idiots! Why did they have to be all noble and send me – the youngest – into the future?! Why? We promised – we all swore on our honor that we would all see this to the end, rather that ending was good or bad didn't matter_._ So why_..._why did they do that? Why_..._?_

Sniffing, I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my jacket. Once I had my composure back, I stood up and felt the walls for the light switch, determined to go back to 2008 and assist my soul siblings with the FBI agents and the government – and kick their asses for sending me away!

_Stupid idiots..._

I let out a triumphant 'ha!' when I found the light switch, only to stare dumbly at the lab with shock as the lights weakly flickered on. Everything was destroyed. The computers were overturned and in pieces, the table and chairs laid brokenly in the floor, the file cabinets were all open and dented and rusted, our fake research papers were all over the place, torn to sheds, and the WTM itself was shattered, and only the chair was intact...

_That_, I decided, _is Brandon's handy work_._ Destroying the WTM before the government agents could confiscate it_.

I let out a shaky sigh, and I subconsciously held the WTM plans close to my chest. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. I refused to cry a second time in one day, damn it.

Okay...okay, so the lab was utterly thrashed, but I can fix it. It's not hopeless. And I can take as much time as I need to, too, since it's a _time machine_. So, as long as I have it set for March 3rd 2008 at precisely 11:29am (or a few minutes after that) then I won't be missing a thing. Yeah...yeah, I can that.

I sighed, and then headed up the stairs. I need to drop my stuff off in my room and hunt down a broom and a dust pan. I'm going to need to clean up before I can actually get to work. I'll need a trash bag, too. Several trash bags, in fact.

Oh _goody_. I hate cleaning. It's no fun...

I sighed again and opened the door.

Five heads swung around to face me, staring at me with varying looks of shock and surprise at seeing some strange girl show up in their living room. I paused at that, blinking at them with a taken aback look on my face.

The occupants were five boys, each one around my age. One was Asian with his hair tied tightly back with sharp and intelligent eyes, one had blond hair and had wide and innocent looking baby blue eyes, one had messy brown hair and was glaring death at me with his dark blue eyes, one had long brown hair that was tied in a braid (reminding me of Mom for one disorienting moment) and had violet eyes that stared at me with surprise, and the last one had brown hair that styled vaguely in a Emo style and had bright green eyes.

I only had time to see all this for about about two seconds (maybe even less) before each boy pulled a gun on me!

"Holy fuck!" I squeaked, taking a step back. I quickly bowed my head to them. "Terribly sorry – I wasn't aware that anyone was living here. Please excuse me..." I said as politely as I could, and then I attempted to quickly slid the door close and rush down the stairs for my life.

Keyword: _Attempted._

Emo Boy quickly put his foot in the door and tossed me into a chair, and I was so stunned, and it happened so fast, that I didn't even have the chance to squeak. How the fuck did he get there so fast?! He was _WAY_ the fuck over by the couches! Not anywhere near the door or the TV!

I stared at him with wide, awe-filled eyes.

"Fucking ninja!" I said, pointing at him in disbelief. All he did was raise an eye brow at me.

Braid Boy peeked through the secret door, which caused me to twitch and watch him with narrowed eyes.

He whistled, amazed. "Hey guys! There's a set of stairs that leads too --"

"My lab, now get away from there, you twit!" I interrupted, disgruntled. Hey, old habits die hard and I am so used to having only me and my soul siblings go in there. It's unnerving otherwise! "Who the hell are you guys anyway? You guys can't be descendants, since you obviously have no idea what this building is supposed to be used for..." I ranted, taking my bags off – they were heavy, damn it.

I promptly ignored Messy Hair who put the barrel of his gun against my head and glared at me. I causally took my own gun holster off and handed it to Messy Hair, who tensed when he saw my gun.

"Here, make yourself useful and hold this for me, yeah? Good puppy!" I cooed, just to be annoying, grinning cheekily up at him.

My eyes widened slightly when his eye twitched. Oooo! That is so cool!

Braid Boy laughed, clearly looking impressed. "Wow! You have balls, don't you?"

I sniffed. "Damn straight, bitches." I said bluntly – inwardly slapping myself for that automatic response – and, without missing a beat, tossed my purple haired troll at Emo Boy, who was trying to sneak away and into the lab.

It was my turn to be impressed when Emo Boy caught it with a masterful ease.

I couldn't help it – I clapped.

"Good job!" I praised, my expression bright. "That was really awesome considering your back was turned. Wow!"

The closest I got to something like that was with a basketball, and that was just a fluke.

"You're a really cool ninja." I decided, nodding to myself.

In fact, he was such a good ninja, I'll just change his nickname to Ninja Master.

It fits.

I saw a flicker of surprise in those green eyes, and he nodded, accepting my praise and then tossed my troll back to me, causing me to spaz out a little as I scrambled to catch the damn thing, much to the boys endless amusement.

I barely caught it, but I caught it! I effing _caught_ it!

"I caught it!" I repeated aloud, looking proud of myself.

"Barely!"

I flipped Braid Boy off.

Don't get me wrong, I thought his comment was funny, but my pride was hurt, okay? My poor little pride...I don't have much of it left after years of tripping over shit, running into walls and doors that said 'Pull _Not_ Push', stumbling over my words and making strange new words out of them, and having some asshole insult my artwork...

Yeah. I really don't have that much pride left to spare.

"Oh shut up, I bet you don't even get laid!" I retorted back hotly. "Because you certainly suck in the sweet talking department, pretty boy!"

"Alright, alright," Blondie quickly intervened before Braid Boy could get out of his shock and have a witty comeback for me.

Oh darn. I was looking forward to a verbal sparing.

"Who are you anyway, miss?" The blond one asked me. And I don't mean stupid-blond, just...he was blond, you know? I don't know that many blonds...

And while I was sorely tempted to say some smart ass comment – "I am Purple, the Candle Master! Fear me, mortals!" – he had these _eyes_. Those baby blues that I mentioned before, and _damn it_, he could probably make a leopard change it's spots by just asking it sweetly and giving it the hurt puppy look.

I inwardly sighed.

I am _pathetic_.

"Tiana," I said causally, leaning into the chair I was in. Comfy... "Tiana Van Zandt, but you may simply call me Tia, if you so wish." I nodded them. "Now, who might you all be? Because I do believe that it was me that asked for your names first? You haven't answered yet. And lets not forget that this is _my_ house."

I have the deeds in my jacket to prove it, too.

And haha, I think I startled them with my regal and high society act. I love acting like my namesake – a princess...

Tell anyone that, and I'll stab you to death with a pencil. Got it?

Good reader.

And my GOD! Messy Hair is so damn creepy. He hasn't said a damn word yet! Just keeps a close eye on me and has his gun trained on me – not wavering for a second! He's making me paranoid here! Gah!

"Your house? But it's been abandoned for 300 or something years!" Braid Boy exclaimed.

I blinked, looking at him thoughtfully while I was smug on the inside. "Oh really?" I said mildly, amused with how he twitched. Wow, I am so good at annoying people...

"Yes." Asian Dude confirmed, watching me carefully.

"Huh." I pulled out the deeds from a hidden pocket in my jacket, making sure I did so slowly, and held it out to him. "Then what's this, eh?"

After a nod from Messy Hair – is he the leader? – Asian Dude warily took the deeds and read through them.

While Asian Dude was reading, Braid Boy came a little closer to me, looking at me curiously.

I gave him a 'WTF?' look. Personal space, much?

"What are you doing?" I asked lightly, but looking wary.

"You look a lot like me." He suddenly blurted out, rather bluntly, I might add.

And he was right.

We did look uncannily alike – same heart shaped face, almost cat-like eyes, long brown hair (that had the red and gold strands that I was so familiar with), high cheek bones, nearly the same height...the only differences were eye colors, the fact that I wear glasses, our body types (I was more chubby and he was a scrawny little bugger), I have a dimple on my chin, he has a button nose, I have an Indian nose, his lips were more pouty than mine (which is _so_ not fair, by the way. He's a BOY!), and he had flawless skin while I had acne.

Bastard..._pretty_ little bastard.

But he _did_ look a lot like me.

"Hm...well, I'll be..." I mused to myself, absently putting some stray hair behind Braid Boy's ear, in an almost motherly way. I didn't even realize I did it until Braid Boy stared at me like I was a freak for touching him.

This unnerved me.

"Please stop staring, Braid Boy, or I shall be forced to kick you." I said in a no nonsense voice, but my grin gave me away. Hey, he might just might be my (or my brother's) descendant, so it's kinda like I'll be kicking my own grandchild (times infinity).

That was an amusing mental image.

Without warning, I tossed the troll again at the Ninja Master. I gave him an exasperated look.

"Little ninja, just give up already." I said. "I may be ADD-ish and easily distracted, but I'm not stupid either. So please sit down – and Psycho Messy Haired Man!" I said suddenly, turning around in my seat to look at him, looking distressed. "Please stop being creepy!" I pleaded, at my wits end with this G.I Joe guy.

"I mean, what the hell?! Your other friends aren't in Defensive Mode anymore, so why the hell are you?!" I continued ranting, not noticing that Asian was done reading and was quietly speaking with Blondie over the deeds. "I have no weapon – I gave that to you to appease you, you dumbass! And...and you have funny hair!" I stopped at that, an aghast look on my face. "Oh no, I did not just go 2nd grade on you. Oh crap - I did, didn't I?" I groaned and covered my flaming face with my hands, embarrassed as hell.

I feel so ashamed of myself now!

And slightly homicidal at Braid Boy's laughter. I should choke him to death with his braid – we'll see who's laughing after that!

Wait...I'm distracted now. I looked up, and sure enough, Ninja was walking to the secret door. I locked eyes with him and nodded tiredly to him. I give up.

'Watch your step,' I mouthed to him, because there's still a bunch of shit in the floor, which I still haven't had time to clean yet, and I'd feel bad if he hurt himself. He nodded and I returned my attention back to Messy Hair, twitching when I realized that he was still watching me. But at least he's lowered his gun.

That's a plus.

"This looks authentic," Asian Dude spoke up, Blondie nodding with him, both of them looking worried. Braid Boy and Messy Hair looked worried too (well, the latter just tensed). I was confused. Why were they so worried that I own the place – oh.

_Duh, Tiana, _I mentally reprimanded myself. _They're worried your going to kick them out of their home._

"Relax," I said, taking the offered deeds, shooting Asian Dude a quick smile of thanks. "I won't kick you out or anything. You can stay here for however long you want. I don't give a shit as long as you don't burn my house down or anything." I paused. "And help me fix up my lab, if you have the free time, of course." I added.

Blondie gave me a curious look. "Why would you need help fixing your lab?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but Ninja came back and beat me to the punch.

"Because it's completely trashed," He said quietly. "And very old." Ninja glanced at me when he said this, and I could see the curiosity in his eyes from over here.

I snorted. "Well of bloody course it's old!" I said, standing up and stretching, yawning. "Damn, I'm tried. But anyway, duh, Ninja. I haven't been around for 300 years, so of course it's a little behind technologically speaking."

I frowned.

"Shit. I'm going to have to update the WTM, because I doubt that they have the parts I'm going to need. God damn it all!" I cursed, frustrated as hell as I paced back and forth. I undid my pony-tail and ran my fingers through my hair for comfort, like I usually do when I'm anxious or worried.

"300 years?" Messy Hair echoed, causing me to stop my pacing to stare at the boys with wide eyes.

Oh shit.

How am I going to get out of this one?

* * *

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Wicked Time Machine: Spring Forwards

Summary: A girl from '08 is forced into going to the future by her friends when the government finds out about their time machine. She takes the GW boys under her wing and bides her time until her WTM is repaired. PWP?

Rating: Teen

Pairings: None. I fail at writing romance. So I've decided to just forget about it.

Warnings: I have no beta reader, so there may be mistakes in this. If you spot any, please tell me.

Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing, would I be writing this? Seriously? Would I?

**To kidishcaresh**: Yep! I'll be finishing this one. It will take time, because I'm still in school and my teachers are fond of giving me a crap load of homework, because they are EVIL little bastards, but yeah – I'll finish it. :3

**To jacann**: Glad you're interested! Hope you'll like this chapter, too.

* * *

Chapter 2: Of Truth and Flashbacks

* * *

_March 3, AC 197 _

"Uh." I stalled.

They looked at me patiently.

"Uhhh..." I looked hopelessly around the room, and I absently noticed that it looked different than how it did in 2008, but I was too busy thinking of a convincing lie to really absorb the details, aside from the fact that the carpet was white instead of blue.

...I looked at the floor a lot, okay?

"Hm..."

Shit.

"Um..."

I really can't think of anything.

"Okay, fine!" I finally snapped, scowling at everyone. I glared when Braid Boy snickered at me. Stupid girly boy... I should smack him one. That would teach him...

"I can't lie worth shit, so here's the truth: I'm a time traveler." I said bluntly, and Asian Dude snorted in disbelief. Oh great, a non-believer. Blondie, however, looked at me with shock, and I noticed that he looked to Messy Hair and nodded slightly. Messy Hair raised a brow, but also nodded back.

That's...interesting. Was Blondie a human lie detector? That's nice; at least one person can believe me...

I continued speaking, acting oblivious.

I'm good at that.

"And if you don't believe me, then too bad, so sad!" I huffed at Asian Dude, who just gave me this vaguely condescending look, which pissed me off – a lot! I _hate_ feeling like an idiot when I'm not!

Which, granted, doesn't happen often. When I'm _not_ being an idiot, I mean. Despite my 'higher' intelligence, I'm really not all that smart. Clever, yes, but smart? No way. Have you _seen_ my grades? I have straight F's – in every class!

Every. Single. Class.

It's quite humbling to see Amanda and Brandon pass their classes with ease.

But I'm getting off topic here; point is, I'm _not_ being stupid this time so there's no need to make me feel like a moron, thank you very much!

I glared at Asian Dude, and I twitched when he smirked at me, as if amused with my icy glare.

Argh!

"You can't really think that we would believe such nonsense," he scoffed, and I threw my troll at him, aiming for his shoulder. He didn't even blink. He just calmly tilted his head to the side, and my beloved purple haired troll flew past his head.

Huh. Looks like I missed my target again – I wasn't aiming for his head, you know.

And blast it! He still dodged it, too!

I scowled at him.

Damn it!

"I _really_ don't like you right now." I said frankly, and blinked when Braid Boy started laughing. I stared at him in bemusement, wondering what he found so funny. I am seriously beginning to think that boy has some problems – he laughs at everything. Who does that?

"What?" I finally asked, absently wondering if 'Jester' would be a better name for him. His weirdness aside, he's certainly cheery enough to be a jester, and seemed to have a good sense of humor.

"You're so blunt!" he told me, chuckling a little.

"Well, _duh_. Like I said; I fail at lying. So I don't even try anymore." I shrugged, then paused. "Well, I still try sometimes, but..." I laughed nervously. "I tend to freeze up, trying to think of something."

Like I did a few minutes ago...

"Now seriously! Dude – I _am_ a time traveler! I was born in May 1992! Last year – I'm sorry, 2007. Damn this time traveling stuff can get confusing – my friends came up to me while I was relaxing in the school library (it's a good place for a nap) and they told me that they had this plan of making a time machine and they needed _my_ help."

* * *

_Flashback – April 5th 2007_

**14 year old Tiana Van Zandt stared, gaping.**

"**You want to do _what?!" _She hissed, glancing around to make sure no one was listening in on them. Thankfully, the library was pretty much empty, as it was lunch time and most of the students were in the lunch room or the Student Lobby, and Mrs. Lacey – the librarian – was in her office.**

**Thank goodness.**

**Brandon Gilbert winced, and started talking fast. They _really_ needed Tiana's help, since she was so good with computers and knew how to build them. They _needed_ a computer specialist that they could trust, and Tiana was one of the most loyal people that they knew. They would ask her brother, but...that would be a little awkward. Matt was really cool and all, but he was an _adult_, and not in their age group. **

"**We want to make a time machine! We know it sounds crazy, but we really think we could do it! Please, Tia? We need your help! You're great with computers, and we need someone that knows their way around them! Please?"**

**Tiana blinked, and, once again, she checked to make sure that they weren't on drugs or something and, yet again, they didn't show any signs. So...does that mean that they _seriously_ think that it's possible to make a working time machine?**

**Hoo boy...**

"**Why me? Why not Bubba? He's a thousand times better than I am!" she argued. "I'm really not all that great, you know..." Tiana mumbled, looking confused. **

**Amanda Thomas looked pleadingly at her friend.**

"**That's not true! You're just as great with computers as your brother is!" Amanda reached across the table and held Tiana's hand, squeezing it. "Please Tia, we really need your help."**

**She looked blankly at her friends, thinking about it. Could she really help make a time machine? A freaking_ time machine? _She didn't think so, but, apparently, these two did. Her friends faith in her skills was scary, because unlike them she knew full well that she wasn't good at anything.**

**She was a failure. Always have been, always will be. It was that simple.**

**But, her friends say they need her – really need her – and she has never been one to turn her back on people that need help, especially her own friends, so...**

**She could at least try, right? And if she fucks up, then she can always go get her brother to help out. She was sure that Matt would love to help make a time machine. He was a geek like her, after all, she recalled with a slight grin.**

"**Alright, I'll do it."**

**Amanda squealed and glomped her, and Brandon grinned widely and joined in on the small hug fest.**

**Tiana giggled, and returned the hugs. She really did love hugs...**

"**So," Tiana said as they pulled apart. "Where are we going to build this thing at?"**

**She raised her brows as she watched Brandon and Amanda share a sheepish glance. _Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this?_ She wondered, frowning slightly.**

"**Um...we don't know yet." Brandon nervously said, and, for the second time that day Tiana gaped at them in utter disbelief. **

"**WHAT?!"**

"**Shhh!"**

**Oh, yeah, _now_ the librarian was paying attention. **

* * *

I laughed.

"Yeah, that was fun." I smiled fondly. "I thought that they were high or something, but they didn't show any signs of being on any drugs, so I knew that they were being perfectly serious with me. So decided to help them out with making the time machine."

I rolled my eyes, sitting back down in my seat. I glanced back at my bags, and that was when I realized that I didn't have my travel bag with me. I nearly had a panic attack, before I remembered that I left it in the lab.

Oh.

I shook my head, and gave the boys an amused look. I'm so spazzy...

"Anyway, after I agreed to helping them, I asked where we were going to build this thing at. To my disbelief, they told me that they didn't _know_ yet." I snorted. "Yeah, I wasn't too impressed, but then I remembered something." I smirked, and paused dramatically for effect.

I love being dramatic. I blame Speech and Drama for this. You need to have a flair for the dramatics for speeches and plays if you want to make a good grade in that class, just as much as you need to be creative to come up with said plays and speeches.

"What did you remember?" Blondie asked, looking interested in my story.

Actually, they all looked fascinated with my story, even Messy Hair and Asian Dude, surprisingly.

Ninja Master was leaning against the wall next to the lab's door, listening to me closely. Braid Boy was sitting on the arm of the chair I was sitting in (again – personal space much?), and was catching my every word. Messy Hair was still standing near me, but his body language wasn't as aggressive as before and was more...curious(?). Asian Dude was sitting calmly in his seat on the couch next to Blondie, and was looking at me thoughtfully.

Huh – did that mean he was starting to believe me? Cool.

In in response to Blondie's question, I grinned, and gestured around us.

"I remembered this place." I said simply, and then winced. "And _damn_, did I remember this place..." I mused, ruefully rubbing my left side, where my rib cage was located.

* * *

_Flashback – February 16th 2007_

**  
Tiana was lost. **

**She didn't _mean_ to get lost. She was just bored and she wondered away from her noisy relatives and went off to explore the forest. Who could blame her? Family reunions were boring as hell. So she went to go explore the forest, something she never did before.**

**It wasn't like she could get lost, right? **

**Right.**

_**Bullshit!**_

**Tiana growled, stomping down the barely there path. Hopefully she could find her way back by following it, and not get even _more_ lost.**

**She looked up at the sky, briefly admiring the endless blue, then went back to watching where she was going. It would be just her luck to get bitten by a snake on top of everything else. As Tiana looked back down, she caught a flash of dark gray out of the corner of her eye. Curious, and not just a little bit hopeful, she looked up.**

**She frowned as she noticed an old gray house, which wasn't _her_ Old House (the house that her mom was raised in). For one thing, it was bigger, and it _definitely_ wasn't a small three bedroom house with a kitchen and living room. It amazed her that her mother and nine other siblings had managed to squeeze in a tiny house like that.**

**Must be those wild Indian/Chuculate genes.**

**But anyway, this house was a great deal bigger than the Old House. It was like a mini mansion, for God's sake! It probably had, like, ten rooms or something in it! It's the biggest house she's ever seen in her _life_. Well, aside from that really big house out in the Back Roads, but that one didn't really count, as she only ever saw it from far away – not a couple yards away.**

**Curious, Tiana walked away from the path to investigate this new mystery. She made sure to make markers as she went so that she could find her way back to the path later. It wasn't much, just breaking the tall grass and pointing it towards the path and leaving twigs behind, but it helped. She wished that she knew of more elaborate ways of making markers, but she didn't, so she just went with what she knew. **

**It was only as she was finishing up with the markers that she realized something important, and promptly banged her head against the nearest tree, cursing her stupidity.**

**Why the hell didn't she make markers as she went into the freaking forest?! **

"**STUPID!" Tiana kicked the tree in frustration. Repeatedly. "I am so STUPID! If I had done that in the first place, I wouldn't be here now! Argh!" She punched the tree, not even bothering to wince when her fist hit the bark of the tree. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..."**

**Tiana glared at her reddened knuckles, sneering at how they throbbed with pain, and then grumpily shoved them back into her pockets and stomped her way to the house, annoyed. Annoyed with her slip up with common sense, annoyed with her petty and childish temper tantrum (she was fourteen now, not _four_), and annoyed with...with...everything in general, she guessed.**

**She sighed, suppressing her frustrated tears.**

**This wasn't the time for anger or tears. This was a time for _adventure_; She just found an unknown house (which looked depressingly abandoned) in the middle of nowhere, and there was the chance that she could find treasure in there. Treasure in the form of old or rare books or shiny buttons or maybe even a dragon's egg or fairy dust.**

**You never know until you look. **

**And being blinded by anger won't help with the looking. Every adventurer has to keep their mind calm, clear and open to everything. Everyone knows that. It's just common sense, after all. Because how can you find anything if you're too angry to even absorb the little details, the tiny clues that help solve any mystery or lead you to the treasure?**

**You don't, that's what.**

**Tiana stopped walking towards the house for a minute, and took several deep breaths. She should have done this in the first place, but all she wanted to do was to unleash her anger and fear at everything she could find – which was, well, nothing, really. But since she found a mystery in the form of an old and unknown house, she knew that she needed to calm down if she wanted to investigate it.**

**She took her small adventures very seriously, even though she knew that they weren't important or even impressive. They were still adventures, and she _lived_ for adventure. She lived for the exploring and the discovering of new things. She lived for solving little mysteries, even if they weren't huge ones.**

**She loved every minute of it, regardless of the difficulty.**

**Tiana focused inwards, and relaxed her body, letting all of her tension and annoyances flow away from her in a calm manner – like streams of water – and letting it disappear into the earth, which could handle her small bursts of anger much better than she ever could.**

**As she came back to herself, she was suddenly acutely aware of the birds singing in the tree tops, a woodpecker attacking some hapless tree, and the buzzing of busy bees in a near by flower patch (she better watch out for those – it would suck if she got stung). She took another deep breath, inhaling the scents of the forest around her, and held that breath.**

**And then let it go.**

**With a relaxed smile, Tiana opened her eyes and then continued walking to the house.**

**She may not be any good at actual meditation, but she was definitely good at _imitating_ it. **

**Tiana smirked to herself, and then looked more closely at the house that she was approaching with clearer eyes. **

**Once upon a time, this house was probably a grand house for the high society, with a spectacular garden, a lovely white picket fence, and a wonderful porch to sit out on and have tea and chat with friends.**

**But it wasn't like that anymore.**

**The once grand and impressive house was worn down by storms and time itself, and it's white paint has long since faded away, and the wood was rotting. The stairs that lead up to the front doors was falling apart (she eyed them warily, wondering if she could climb them without falling through), the gardens were wild and untamed, with weeds everywhere, and the picket fence was in dire need of repair. The windows were cracked or completely shattered, and the roof had some holes in it.**

**Overall, it was a dump.**

**But that didn't put her off. No, no, not in the least. It made her even more intrigued, and she wondered what happened to the previous owners, and what their story was. Were they some rich family that hit hard times and fled from their home in search of a more affordable place? **

**She didn't know.**

**But she was impressed with how she could pick up on all of these details now. She didn't even fully notice the appearance of the house while she was peeved. That just goes to show you that thinking with a clear mind has more advantages than not having one.**

**Tiana carefully walked up the steps, cursing when the third step went out on her, and quickly went to the next on. Surprisingly, that was the only step that broke, although quite a few of them groaned warningly at her. She would have to be extremely careful when going back down them later.**

**Tiana opened the door, squeaking in surprise when it fell of the hinges and landed on to the floor with a loud bang. _Holy shit, that was scary..._**

"**Sorry," she muttered to the door, which looked rather sad to her, just laying there on the floor, and stepped over it, entering the old house for the first time.**

**She explored the house thoroughly, finding some old gold buttons, animal droppings, an old, lonely looking doll that was remarkably untouched aside from the dust that coated it, and a book on proper etiquette for ladies and gentlemen. She laughed at the last one, greatly amused by it. The cover was nibbled on by stray animals, but the pages were still very much readable. Tiana planned on reading it later when she got back to her uncles house.**

**It should be fun to read, at the very least.**

**She stuffed the book and buttons in her jacket pocket, thankful that she had large pockets, and carried the doll with her as she exited the last bedroom, absently petting it's golden blonde hair. It was a very pretty doll, with a cute pink dress and matching hair ribbons, white stalkings, and little black shoes. She was thinking of naming the doll Eleanor or Marigold. **

**Every doll – _especially_ porcelain dolls – need a name. They should also be treated with respect, because she had a feeling that porcelain dolls are much more intelligent than some people give them credit for. So, it would be a good idea to get on the doll's good side, just in case.**

**Tiana smiled, hugging the doll close to her as she walked down the hall. The house had seven bedrooms, two bathrooms (a little outdated, but not too bad), a kitchen, a study, a dining room, and a spacious living room. It was a little bigger than she first thought, but it was about right. **

"**Well, little miss," she addressed the doll, holding her up to her face. She smiled at the large and dreamy blue eyes the doll had. "I hope you don't mind me stealing you away from this old house. I would really like to own you myself. I'm sure you miss having an owner – someone to talk and play with. Although, I admit, I don't really like to play much, but I do love to talk." Tiana said cheerfully, laughing a bit. "I also hope that you don't mind me calling you Marigold – you _do_ need a name, after all. I can't just call you 'hey you!' and be done with it. That would be rude."**

**The newly dubbed Marigold didn't say a word (which was probably a good thing. Tiana would have freaked out if it had), but she imagined that the doll looked happy and agreed with her perfectly.**

"**Oh, by the way, I'm Tiana. Tiana Van Zandt --"**

_**Crack...**_

**Tiana paused, blinking in confusion. She was now in the center of the living room, and she was a bit concerned with the sudden cracking sound that seemed to echo around her. It sounded rather ominous to the girl.**

**Wary, Tiana carefully took a few more steps but she suddenly let out a loud screech when the floor under her broke. She quickly silenced herself as she fell through the floor, however, refusing to scream like a little girl, and made sure to land on her side and that Marigold wouldn't be under her.**

**She didn't think the doll would appreciate being squished and possibly broken by her weight.**

"**Ouch! Fucking _ow!"_ Tiana cursed, whimpering as she held her left side. She let go of Marigold, and carefully sat up, wincing as she did so. Damn, her side hurt like a bitch. She hesitatingly poked at it, and sighed in relief when she didn't feel any broken ribs. Just a lot of bruising. **

"**Holy fuck...I can't believe my luck. Not only did I fall through the floor, but I did so with no real injures to speak of. Geez. I'm not sure if I should bless the gods, or curse them all."**

**Like usual.**

**Tiana snorted, and gingerly stood up, grabbing Marigold as she got up. She held the doll close to her uninjured side, and took a good look around her. It was very dark, and the only light that she had was from the huge hole that she just made. **

**She frowned thoughtfully, noting the worn out mats and little nick-nacks on the floor. She even spotted an old dress, which for some reason reminded her of a slave's dress from an old movie she watched when she was younger. Did that mean that this used to be a hiding place for escaped slaves?**

**Or was it just a basement? Hm, she didn't recall seeing any stairs...**

**She shrugged, wincing as her side protested the movement (who knew that shrugging made the muscles in your sides move?), and began looking for a door or some stairs or something. The room _had_ to have some way in and out, because someone had to put that stuff down here at some point in time. It didn't just magically appear, after all. **

"**And look! I was right! There's some stairs right there!" Tiana cheered, and quickly, but carefully, dashed over to said stairs. "See Marigold? The Tia Monster isn't as stupid as seems!"**

**Marigold didn't comment.**

**Tiana sighed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, whatever. I just want to get the hell out of here and go home. I've had a really long day, okay?" she whined, and then cursed when she ran head first into the door at the top of the stairs – or, what she _hoped_ was a door, anyway.**

**Tiana felt around for a door knob, but instead found a thin handle, like the kind you would normally find on a slide-glass door. Hm. That's different. Inwardly shrugging instead of outwardly (she learned her lesson), she slide the door open and blinked when she saw the living room. She didn't remember seeing a door in there...**

**Tiana carefully walked out on to the living room floor, and then turned around to frown at the door she just went through. She noted that there was a strange knot in the door, like some sort of accident happened with the plaster or something, and it was where a door knob would usually be. She vaguely remembered seeing it before, but that dismissed it was nothing. **

**She curiously grabbed the...knob, and then pulled to the right, sliding the door shut.**

**Tiana smiled, nodding approvingly. **

**The door blended in nicely with the walls, and one couldn't even see any cracks or an outline of the door – not even at the bottom of the door.**

**Clever.**

**Too bad she couldn't fully explore this new development. The sun was beginning to set now and she really didn't want to stick around in this forest alone – in the _dark_ – with the wild dogs, bob cats, rabid racoons, and Big Foot.**

**Fuck no. No way in _hell_ was she sticking around! **

* * *

"I'd gotten lost in my uncle's forest and I stumbled across this place. It was pretty run down back then, and the floors were rotting away like you wouldn't believe. I ended up falling through the floor of this room – over there – " I pointed vaguely to where the coffee table was. "And ended up in a hidden room. The previous owners used it to hide slaves in, and then sent them off to be freed. Anyway, I didn't get killed or get a concussion from the fall (amazingly) and only hurt my ribs. Just bruised, not broken or anything."

"So, remembering the place, I suggested it to Brandon and Amanda. They loved the idea and my uncles gave me the house and a part of the land. They weren't using it for anything, after all. So we built our secret base here."

I shrugged.

"And that's my story."


End file.
